Gracie Frizzell looks for an open teammate in the first half the game against Texas A&M. Photo: Tyler Jackson, The Daily Mississippian.
The Ole Miss women’s basketball team will travel to Missouri for another Southeastern Conference matchup tonight at 6 p.m. from Mizzou Arena.
Again and again, we continue to see progression from the Rebels. Ole Miss (10-18, 1-13 SEC) dropped a heartbreaking 72-70 overtime contest to Mississippi State last Sunday. In a game that saw a seven-point halftime lead slip away, the Rebels were unable to make the key plays down the stretch to pick up their second conference win of the season. In a good effort, senior point guard Valencia McFarland added a career-high 29 points.
Fortunately for Ole Miss, it will have another chance to knock off a Missouri team that the Rebels played extremely tough back on Jan. 2 when they lost at home 85-76. Ever since that game, Mizzou (16-11, 5-9 SEC) has also struggled in SEC play. However, the Tigers have won two of their last three, and the Rebels have lost eight straight games.
As evidenced in the previous meeting, Ole Miss can play with this team. We have seen the Rebels disappear in the second halves of games this year. However, if Ole Miss can play Mizzou well just like they did in the first matchup, then the Rebels will be primed to pick up their first road win of conference play tonight.
Impact Players
Ole Miss: After recently being named one of the 22 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, McFarland is set to make her case in the final road game of the season. The award is given to the nation’s top point guard. If the Rebels want to pick up this win, McFarland will have to repeat her career performance in the close loss to Mississippi State last Sunday.
Missouri: Senior small forward Bri Kulas has been the undisputed leader for the Tigers this season. With averages of 18.6 points and 6.6 rebounds, Kulas plays hard every night and is one of the best players in the conference. This is senior night for Missouri, and you better expect Kulas to play her best game yet.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss Women’s basketball follow @browningstubbs and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
Browning Stubbs
bbstubbs@go.olemiss.edu
